I have always loved making comics. My first comic strip was about a baby named Boppy, and I created it for my family newsletter. Sadly (happily?), I didn't keep any samples. However, here's another comic that I did back then (click to enlarge):

I post a lot of one-panel comics for writers in Inkygirl.com, many of which are inspired by my own experiences. Especially the ones about rejection -- I, um, have a LOT of experience in that area.

In retrospect, I've learned a ton about storytelling and audience connection through creating comics such as:

- Boiling a story down to its essence.

- Learning about pacing.

- Improving my sequential storytelling skills.

- My readers care far more about connecting with the characters and story than they do about my illustration technique.

Recently, I've started experimenting with incorporating comics and illustration into my middle grade work. I'm not talking much about these new projects until I've finished them (and I haven't shown them to anyone yet) but I'm pretty excited. Wish me luck!